This invention concerns the transportation of a patient between an ambulance and a hospital emergency room, or other place of treatment.
At the scene of an accident or medical emergency, there are usually police or others available to assist an ambulance crew in loading the patient into the ambulance. The patient is placed on a litter, which is carried to the ambulance by several persons. But when the ambulance arrives at the hospital, it is not always easy to transport the patient. The hospital staff may be engaged with other emergencies. At night, or on holidays or weekends, there may not be personnel available to help to unload the patient. Thus, the ambulance crew, which may consist of only a driver and a first-aid person, must struggle to unload the patient, without assistance. The litter must be pulled out of the ambulance with one person on each side supporting the weight of the litter, and then lowered to the ground. Then, the litter must somehow be transported to the emergency room, or to another device which carries the patient to the emergency room. Typically, the ambulance crew leaves the patient on a litter, with the litter locked in its raised position.
The procedure described above is fraught with problems. Many times, a member of the ambulance crew drops his or her side of the litter. The litter may also tip over for other reasons. Sometimes, the locking mechanism on the litter breaks, causing the waiting patient to fall. All of these occurrences can cause serious harm to an already injured or sick person.
The present invention solves the above-described problems by providing a litter carrier which can be used to transfer a litter from an ambulance to a hospital emergency room. The litter carrier of the present invention is intended to remain at the hospital at all times, and therefore can be built to be strong and rigid, unlike the ambulance litter. The carrier can be used by one person working alone, and thereby conserves valuable hospital resources. Use of the carrier speeds the loading and unloading of patients, and thus saves precious time in emergency situations.